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Hmm.....not sure about this one.
I enjoyed both storylines, the past & the present. The Armenian genocide is an event in history that deserves to be told and remembered. The bravery of people of other nations should also be told. However, the feel of this book is one of fluff and romance. These elements take away from the importance of the story and turns it into something light, breezy and entertaining.
A good story, infused with romance, coincidences and convenient turns of events.

Set both in the present day and during the Armenian genocide during World War I, The Sandcastle Girls is a powerful and epic story of love, loss, war and protection. Side note: It's shameful how little I and many others know about a systematic holocaust that is estimated to have taken the lives of up to 1.5 million people. Bohjalian, of course, depicts this period with great poignancy, pulling no punches about the horrors inflicted on the Armenians by the Ottoman empire.

The story unfolds as present-day novelist Laura Petrosian begins researching her Armenian heritage and comes across the history of her grandparents, who experienced the genocide firsthand, though from very different vantage points.

I am a longtime Chris Bohjalian fan, and The Sandcastle Girls further solidifies my admiration for his ability to tackle difficult and sweeping subjects with tremendous skill.